Cathay Pacific Airways has agreed a deal to acquire budget airline HK Express, the South China Morning Post reports, citing anonymous sources.

The Hong Kong newspaper says Cathay is poised to make a formal announcement as early as Tuesday, though the newspaper’s sources did not expand on the agreement between the two airlines, including the financial terms.

Business Traveller Asia-Pacific could not immediately independently verify the South China Morning Post report. Cathay Pacific declined to comment when approached by Business Traveller Asia-Pacific.

In the first week of March, Cathay Pacific said it was in “active discussions” to buy HK Express.

Also in March, Cathay announced that it had returned to profitability following two years in the red during which it reported its first ever back-to-back annual loss in 2017.

In February, we reviewed HK Express’ Airbus A320 economy class service between Hiroshima and Hong Kong.

Flight review: HK Express Airbus A320 economy class Hiroshima-Hong Kong